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AT&T and Apple Tightening Policies to Reduce iPhone Unlocking

EagerDragon said:
Neither AT&T nor Apple sell or plan at this time to sell an unlocked iPhone.



Yes new 2 year contract and cancels your previous contract.



Not in those words …. You can not buy an iPhone 3G without an AT&T contract (in the USA). No contract, no phone.

When buying from apple store there will likely be some paper you need to sign and if after 30 days you do not activate with AT&T there maybe a 200 or 400 charge on your credit card. In other words, the unsubsidized amount difference.

Also phone would not be under warranty since warranty work requires a contract with AT&T.

:apple:
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what if you paid with one of those prepaid visa cards with your name on it?
 
matttrick said:
what if you paid with one of those prepaid visa cards with your name on it?
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They'll send a ninja after you.

If you're being serious, I think that we're discussing/arguing the fine points of this too much. The real answer to most of this is that nobody knows for sure yet, not even AppleT&T.
 
Couldn't you essentially sign a contract, terminate the contract after the first month, pay the $200 or so penalty and then unlock it?

Or scenario two, get a data only plan, unlock it, and just pay the $20-$30 a month for data and use your other service provider.
 
matttrick said:
what if you paid with one of those prepaid visa cards with your name on it?
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Read your contract, a lot of times you are responsible for secondary charges related to a particular purchase.

If that is the case, the credit card will pay, and they will then hunt you down for re-payment. Check the contract.

Neither AT&T not Apple are stupid, either the credit card, Apple or AT&T will be writing you or calling you for payment. Sooner later it will then affect your credit rating.

*** Joke *** Would be funny if you defaulted in the card and 6 month later you send your Mac for repair under warranty and Apple does not gives it back due to your previous unpaid balance. LOL.
 
Intarweb said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but the $199 and $299 are NOT subsided prices. I've seen no mention of that anywhere. Those are just the prices of the phones.
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Those are subsidized prices. Note that AT&T press release that mentions the impact on earnings of the new iPhone subsidies.
 
I dont understand why people think that the new iPhone will be at the most £199 in the UK on PAYG. The Nokia N95 which is of arguably similar spec is £449.95 ($900) on o2 PAYG http://shop.carphonewarehouse.com/pay-as-you-go/nokia/n95-black/. This is about the level we can expect the iPhone to be at.

Also take into account that the Nokia N95 is free on the £30/month tariff and the iPhone (16gb) is £159 on the £30/month tariff.. This could mean that the iPhone could be as much as £600 ($1200) on PAYG.
 
Kenny Pollock said:
Couldn't you essentially sign a contract, terminate the contract after the first month, pay the $200 or so penalty and then unlock it?

Or scenario two, get a data only plan, unlock it, and just pay the $20-$30 a month for data and use your other service provider.
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Yes. That's seems at this early point the only way to do it since it seems that there will be no no-commit price.

But I don't think they will let you buy a data-only plan. I think to fulfill the terms of the contract you have to have voice and data.

oclor said:
Quick question: For the current iPhone, if you unlock it and stick a t-mobile sim card, can you get internet access with it? If the iPhone 3g were to be unlocked, can we get 3G access from t-mobile???
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I have been told that T-Mobile uses a split band technique for their 3G data that is incompatible with the usual (read: iPhone) standards.
 
Ugh, as much as I've been anticipating iPhone v2, I'm not a fan of these restrictions.

In that case, I'm going to try and pick up an iPhone v1 on the cheap.
 
Tankgunk said:
Question: how hard is it to get a GoPhone (pay as you go) plan with an iPhone? If so, I could just pay for the few minutes that I ever use and pick up data for $30 or whatever.
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i have a gophone with att in my iphone..

i know people with bad credit got pre-paid accounts in itunes because they didnt want you to return the iphone, so no 2 year contract :)
 
quantumbits said:
Ugh, as much as I've been anticipating iPhone v2, I'm not a fan of these restrictions.

In that case, I'm going to try and pick up an iPhone v1 on the cheap.
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cheap? lol they will cost alot more because you will be able to unlock them..
or they will be unlocked
 
sananda said:
free on some tariffs: https://www.o2.co.uk/iphone/paymonthly

and it will be available on pay and go: https://www.o2.co.uk/iphone/paygo
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So a company in the U.S. creates the greatest cell phone ever on the planet but yet in its own country runs on a network with primitive draconian policies. Furthermore, in its own country it runs on a network that is just now being caught up technologically.
This really hurts me. :(

What is making me mad today though is Apple taking away the ability to activate your iPhone online. Why the bloody hell can't apple make it so that you can order it online, sign "virtually" a contract and activate it right there....online....at the time of purchase. That way you won't have to go to the bloody at&t store and spend all night on a looooooooooooooong line waiting to freakin activate it!!!!! :mad:

Apple.....push back! Push at&t back steve you freakin little girl! Do NOT get pwned like that again! You mean to tell me you actually let someone outside your company mess with the product experience you carefully crafted? Next your going to let them tell you what hardware and software to put on the thing.
Let me remind you of something steve.......the iPhone is NOT a run of the mill cell phone. Don't make me smack you steve I mean it! :mad:
 
I guess its little things like discounts not being honored, the “price drop from nowhere” and extra 10 dollars here and there that bug me.

On the flip side, I wrestled my discount back (25%), Got a $100 apple gift card for the price drop issue, and I have decided to stick with my current version iPhone at my current plan rate.


I was one of those that would have defiantly bought the 3G ASAP if it went on sale, even today, but a month is a long time to wait. I’ve already cooled off from “having” to own a new one, to stopping and thinking a little. I was definitely wrapped up in the hype. Maybe I’ll look at the 3G iPhone in a few months after all the dust settles and people use the phone for a few months. I’d love to hear real people’s opinions on it when it comes out. Hopefully it is everything it is being sold as. My Co. discount will defiantly be the deal breaker if I ever decide to buy. My current iPhone has been VERY good to me (no reset issues, battery life long, etc), so I’m not exactly dieing to buy anything new now.
 
If AT&T subsidizes the price (at $199 they probably do,) I'd say it's O.K. to lock you into a contract.

BUT, the phone should be available at a realistic non-subsidized price. Unlocked.

As it is, AT&T (and Apple) can stick the iPhone 2 where the sun doesn't shine. I'll probably go back to HTC.
 
AWESOME! I'll have AT&T service where I live (only partner before), a carrier here is getting bought out by AT&T. Yep, getting an iPhone. In fact I might be able to buy an iPhone locally before too long. Man, WWDC has been more exciting that christmas...that's sad.
 
Also, does anyone know if there will be a choice of GPS applications? Stuff like iGo 8, etc.. Or is the iPhone stuck with Google Maps, which would make the GPS next to useless for traveling.
 
macUser2007 said:
Also, does anyone know if there will be a choice of GPS applications? Stuff like iGo 8, etc.. Or is the iPhone stuck with Google Maps, which would make the GPS next to useless for traveling.
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I've read somewhere that at least one developer is making a driving directions type app for the iPhone. Don't remember where.
 
HLdan said:
Yeah, and Apple expects it's customers (YOU) to be honest and actually activate the iPhone at home with AT&T service rather than do something against their policy like unlock iPhone to do what you please with it. IMO, you are the one being greedy, the initial price is now cheaper, there's no reason for you to be annoyed unless you had no intention to activate the iPhone under AT&T's service.
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Dude, check my post history before you start slinging accusations around.

I own a v1 iPhone. It runs on AT&T. It has NEVER been unlocked, nor jailbroken for that matter. In this very thread I said this development was obviously a result of the black market efforts screwing up the product for everybody.

And for your assertion that the only reason I would be annoyed would be because I was going to break the EULA, I wholeheartedly disagree.

I have every reason to be annoyed when I now have a 30 day limit on a gift I purchase. I have every reason to be annoyed when what was previously a cool, innovative, streamlined user-friendly process is now removed.

I have never had any intention of using my iPhone illegally, and I bristle at AT&T assuming I was going to, and taking away product features because of it. That's part of the reason I left Verizon; their crippling of phones.

Now AT&T is doing it to the iPhone -- they are crippling its feature set. This is why, at this moment, I think I'll sit this one out.
 
macUser2007 said:
If AT&T subsidizes the price (at $199 they probably do,) I'd say it's O.K. to lock you into a contract.

BUT, the phone should be available at a realistic non-subsidized price. Unlocked.

As it is, AT&T (and Apple) can stick the iPhone 2 where the sun doesn't shine. I'll probably go back to HTC.
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It would except that Apple has a contract with AT&T.

A higher priced unlocked phone wouldn't bother Apple but, AT&T signed the contract under the assumption that they would be getting all the US iPhone users.

If you don't like the US iPhone being locked to AT&T, nobody is stopping you from getting a different phone.
 
This is terrible news if true..

I was one of those people that just went ahead and gave AT&T a try and put up with their crappy service for about 7 months before I called and got out of my contract and switched to T-Mobile.

I live in Chicago, and you would think that here, of all places, reception would be good. My iPhone said "No Service" on it more than it said anything else.

Partnering with AT&T was one of Apple's worst moves. Or, at least partnering for this long. They should have only gave then a 1-2 year maximum exclusive contract.
 
Direct Purchase

Apple is regretting their "exclusive" ATT contract for sure. No way they will sell 18 Million phones when they can only be used on 1 carrier. I can go to the HTC or Nokia site and buy any phone they offer and use it on any carrier I wish. I can also choose to go to the carrier site and get the phone at a subsidized price with a contract, so I have options. Apple gives you no options. Big mistake on selling a large number of these great phones.
 
Re: pathetic IMEI paranoia

- IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) is intended to be a tool to reduce the effectiveness of phone theft. It is device-specific, and blacklisting an IMEI should render the phone useless nearly worldwide, regardless of what SIM card is used.

- Nothing I can find specifically prohibits individual carriers from blacklisting phones for their own reasons, but the IMEI DB website states that, " The black list is a list of IMEIs that are associated with GSM or 3G devices that should be denied service on mobile networks because they have been reported as lost, stolen, faulty or otherwise unsuitable for use."

- Methinks that if <insert carrier> were to add IMEIs to the database simply because the individual that owns the device is refusing to sign a 2 year <insert carrier> contract, the GSM Association (that is responsible for the IMEI DB) might frown upon such actions. It is blatant abuse of what should be a good system to thwart criminal activity, not to enforce an otherwise unenforceable EULA. It would be like labeling and officially registering people as sex offenders simply because they urinated behind a dumpster in a darkened alleyway. Oh, wait... Boston already does that...

- Mealsothinks that should one carrier blacklist a particular "lost" phone, another carrier might be more than happy to un-blacklist the phone when it is "found" and proof of ownership is provided - and one of their SIM cards is used to "verify operation", of course.

Personally, I don't think AT&T will use this method. At absolute worst, I see small claims, although the attorney fees probably exceed the price reduction and is exceptionally juvenile. Like others have mentioned, the likelihood of an extra $200 hold on the credit card is very possible, much like hotels and rental car companies do already for those "just in case" charges. Prepaid cards do not require you to provide any info for the company to "hunt you down" (LOL!) - trust me, I've used dozens of them that my company hands out like candy. But all the money would have to be available on the card before the purchase, and that "extra" money will not be available should you decide to stop and get groceries on the way home from the Apple store with your inactivated iPhone.
 
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